Balto McCormick
by Balto Kodiak
Summary: I wanted to try something new, and give Ren a sister. 17 year-old, Balto McCormick, follows her older brother, Ren, throughout the events of "Footloose" and helps him out with his endeavors. Better than it sounds. T for language. Read & Review Please! :D
1. First Day in Bomont

**Balto McCormick**

**Chapter 1: First Day in Beaumont**

**A/N: I was watching Footloose today, and I have this OC of mine that I love (Balto Kodiak) and thought I'd do something different than usual. I thought that instead of putting her in the place of Ren and changing all the characters, I'd just make her Ren's sister. It's a new thing for me, so please review and let me know how I did. I tried to base some stuff off of some things my brother and I used to do. However, I'm also trying to keep Ren in character as much as possible, and combining the brother-sister relationship with keeping him in character is kind of a challenge. So again, please review and let me know how I'm doing.**

**Disclaimer: I'm claiming no rights to Footloose. I'm just a fan havin' a little fun with one of her favorite 80's movies. I only own my character, Balto. I'm not claiming rights to the movie Balto by using the name. There, I think that just about covers everything.**

Balto and Ren McCormick had just moved to a little town called Beaumont, and already didn't like it. It was much smaller than their native Chicago, and it wasn't very lively. Right now, they were sitting in church listening to Rev. Shaw Moore rant on and on about music and religious stuff. Balto was getting very bored and was wondering when this was going to end.

Balto was Ren's 17 year-old younger sister, (assuming Ren was 18, since the movie gave almost no reference to his age), and looked a lot like her brother. She had brownish-blonde hair, hazel green eyes, and slightly tanned skin. She also had a blue hat that she almost never took off.

"Hey, Ren. When do we get the hell outta here?" Balto whispered.

"I don't know, soon hopefully." Ren answered. Unluckily for Balto, their mother heard them.

"Balto Kävik McCormick, don't you dare swear in church," their mother scolded her. Balto had a bad swearing habit, and often got in trouble for it. She and her brother were often described as "reckless troublemakers," but Balto was proud of that title. Not much later, Rev. Moore dismissed everybody and went outside.

"Mrs. McCormick, your sister has us so excited about you coming," Shaw said, when they ran into him.

"Thank you," their mother replied.

"Did you meet my wife, Vi?" Shaw asked, ushering Vi forward.

"No, how do you do?" She shook Vi's hand in greeting.

"How nice to meet you," Vi greeted.

"Hi, I'm Mrs. McCormick and this is my son, Ren, and my daughter, Balto," their mother gestured to both of them. Balto and Ren just smiled, nodded, and shook Shaw and Vi's hands.

"So you two will be going to the high school?" Shaw inquired.

"Yep," Ren answered.

"Have you two met any of your teachers?"

"No, we haven't had a chance."

"They've only been here eight hours," their mother added.

A few moments later, some girls came out of the church. One of which, was Ariel, Shaw's daughter. Ren raised his eyebrows when he saw her, and Balto just smirked.

"Daddy?'

"Ariel, will you come meet the McCormicks?" He pulled her over and began introducing them. "This is Mrs. McCormick, her son, Ren, and her daughter, is it Bingo?"

"Balto," Balto corrected. She hated it when people said her name wrong. It was a big pet peeve of hers.

"They'll be new at the high school tomorrow," Shaw explained.

"Me, Edna, Wendy Jo and Rusty are going for a soda at the Hi-Spot." Ariel told him as they ran off towards her friends' car.

"Ariel, remember, you have school tomorrow!" Her father reminded her.

"I'll be home for dinner!"

"God is he excellent!" Rusty said.

"Who, the new kid? He's alright," Ariel answered.

"Are you blind? He's gorgeous!" Rusty exclaimed.

…

"Have you seen the new high school?" Rev. Moore inquired.

"No, we haven't." Balto answered.

…

"Hey, what about his sister? Balto, I think it was. What do you guys think about her?" Ariel asked.

"She's okay, I guess. She wears boy's clothes, though, isn't that strange?" Rusty replied.

"Yeah, have you ever seen a girl wear boy's clothes? It's not somethin' you see everyday, that's for sure," Edna said.

…

"I made you some of those Toll House squares I promised," one of Ren and Balto's relatives announced. "Lulu, you taste one of these, you'll burn your recipe."

"Reverend, we have a little problem," a man in a suit told Rev. Moore. "I heard the English teacher is planning to teach that book."

"Slaughterhouse Five. Isn't that an awful name?" Somebody commented.

"That's a great book," Ren added. Everyone looked at him like he had lobsters crawling out of his ears. "Slaughterhouse Five. It's, it's a classic."

"Do you read much?" The man inquired.

"Well, sort of, but my sister, Balto, doesn't. No, she prefers climbing trees to reading books," he explained.

"Well, in another town it's a classic-" a lady began.

"In any town." Ren interrupted.

"Tom Sawyer is a classic."

"That's fine."

After that awkward dispute about books and reading, everyone sat down at the dinner table. Except for Ren and Balto, that is. They were just staring out the window, talking quietly amongst themselves, like they normally did whenever they weren't bothered for a while.

"Ethel, have some more ham." Ren and Balto jolted at the sudden break in silence. They were in their own little world, it seemed, and hated being pulled out of it.

"You sure Ren and Balto don't want anything?" Their younger cousin, Amy asked. Amy was very fond of them, especially Ren. She still liked Balto, though, since Balto taught her how to climb trees.

"We're all a little tired from the move," their mother answered.

"I'm gonna take Ren a potato," Amy said. She started to get up when she was interrupted.

"Amy, come back and sit down. I'm sure your cousins are fine."

"It's a shock to the system, moving out here from the big city."

"What if he's starving?" Amy protested.

"Amy, you are so lame," Sarah said. Amy got mad, so she and Sarah began hitting each other, when their mother intervened.

"Sarah! Amy! Eat!"

"You sure you're not too tired?"

"No, Ren did most of the driving."

"If you ask me, Ren is a total fox," Amy commented, much to everyone's displeasure. Ren whipped his head around at that comment, finally diverting his attention to something else besides his sister. Balto tried her best to stifle a laugh as Ren's face turned different shades of red.

"Where did you hear that?"

"See how television and those kinds of books influence children?"

Ren and Balto decided to get away from all this arguing over books and TV and went to the backyard. The second they were outside, Balto climbed the nearest tree and sat down on one of the lower branches. Ren just sat in the grass and appeared to be deep in thought. They loved the time they spent just talking about everything that came to their minds. Balto in a tree, Ren in the grass, it was a good time for them to talk like a brother and sister would.

"Quite a town, huh, Ren?" Balto asked, lying down on the branch, and putting her head against the trunk.

"Sure. Not as good as Chicago, but apparently it's good enough for mom," Ren answered. He laid back in the grass with his hands behind his head staring up at the snow white clouds roll across the bright blue sky.

"Why don't you climb trees anymore, huh? You used to, but when you turned thirteen, you stopped. How come?" Balto inquired.

"I got bored with it," he replied.

"Horseshit Ren! You never get tired of climbing trees! I've been doing it since I was six, and I still love it," Balto exclaimed, sitting up on the branch.

"And you've been skipping school almost every Monday and Friday since you were fourteen," Ren countered.

"Ha ha. And mom still doesn't know. You did too, a couple times, though, remember?" Balto asked.

"Yeah. You were good at not getting caught, kiddo," Ren replied.

"Goddammit, quit calling me 'kiddo!' I'm only a year younger than you, ya know." Balto said.

"You got a real swearing problem, you know that don't you?"

"So? You swear, too."

"Can we please change the subject?" Ren asked pleadingly.

"Alright, uh, what do you think about that girl Ariel, huh? Personally, I don't think she likes me," Balto stated.

"Now why wouldn't anybody like you? You're a ton of fun, you got a good sense of humor, you got a lot of good stuff in ya," Ren said back. Sure Balto was kind of rude, rarely showered, and smelled, but she was his sister and he loved her nonetheless.

"I don't know, but you still haven't answered my question, Ren." Balto told him, raising her right eyebrow and putting a mischievous grin on her face.

"Well, she's alright, ya know?" Ren answered, half-heartedly. He obviously didn't want to talk about that right now.

"Okay, okay, I see," Balto replied, more to herself than her brother. "Do you think it's a good idea to skip school on the first day?" She asked, changing the subject again.

"I don't know, Balto, you tell me," Ren answered sarcastically.

"I don't think I will. I would've in Chicago, but I think I should know the school better before I start skipping, you know?"

"You mean so you know which teachers to be sarcastic to, the best ways to avoid getting caught cutting class, and all the best targets for pranks?" Ren inquired, again, sarcastically.

"You left out skipping detention without getting caught," Balto reminded him.

"You are quite the troublemaker, aren't you?" Ren loved that about her. She was a troublemaker, and she was proud of it. He learned some of his best techniques from his younger sister, and often cut class with her.

"You remember that one time back home when we skipped school with Jimmy? Man, we almost got caught! You were stupid enough to make that phony phone call to get him outta school with your normal voice!" Balto recalled.

"Hey, I can't disguise my voice as well as you can, alright kiddo?" Ren countered. He stood up to claim another spot in the yard, when Balto became enraged again.

"I told you not to call me kiddo!" Balto yelled as she jumped down from the tree, and onto her brother's back. Ren immediately dropped to the ground. Balto had him in a headlock, and he was trying to get her off of him. This wasn't an all out violent fight like some other siblings do, no no no no no. This was a play fight, or a teasing fight, if you will. They used to fight a lot when they were younger, and Ren usually beat Balto. However, in recent years, Balto had gotten stronger and more physically fit, and often won in the fights they had.

Everybody inside heard the grunting and swearing from the fight in the backyard and was wondering what the hell was going on. They decided to go out back and investigate. Much to everyone's surprise, and their mother's displeasure, they caught Balto with Ren still in a headlock. The two siblings noticed their presence and stopped briefly to think of the heat they were in.

"Ren and Balto McCormick! What are you doing?" Their mother screamed at them. Ren and Balto looked at each other, trying to think of an excuse.

"Brother-sister stuff?" Ren answered in a hoarse voice.

"Well whatever it is, I want you two to stop. Balto, let go of your brother," their mother instructed.

Balto did as she was told and released her hold on Ren's neck. Then she trudged into the kitchen to get some food in her stomach. Ren was gasping for breath and clutching his throat as he followed her inside. The sun was already beginning to set and night was approaching quickly. Nighttime was Balto's favorite part of the day, but she needed to wake up early to find a frog to put in their cousin Sarah's bed. Balto was a major, big-time prankster and one of her favorite pranks was the frog in the bed. She pulled it on Ren once, when he was 10, and got quite a kick out of it.

"Man, it's nine o'clock already? It seems like it was only an hour ago when I was in a tree back home while you and mom were loading up the car," Balto recalled, as she kicked off her shoes and took off her leather jacket.

"Yeah, I know. It's incredible how time flies, huh?" Ren said. Since there were no other available beds in the house, and Ren occupied the sofa bed, Balto had to sleep on the floor in the living room until further notice. It's actually a lot more comfortable than it sounds.

"You sure you're alright on the floor there, Balto?" Ren asked.

"Of course. I sleep on the floor all the time," Balto answered. When she and Ren were little, they used to curl up in the same bed whenever it was cold, or when it rained, but they've long since grown out of that. Well, almost grown out of it. Upon occasion, they still would, but very, very rarely.

They began talking again, but twenty minutes later, their mother came and told them to go to sleep. She then kissed them goodnight, and turned off the lights, like they couldn't do it themselves. Ren was out cold, but Balto lay awake for a while, staring at the ceiling. The climate in Beaumont was too hot for her. She liked a cool climate, not an excruciatingly hot climate. Oh well. No one's paying her to like this place.

…

Meanwhile, at the Drive-In, Ariel was with her boyfriend, Chuck, and had smuggled some tapes to listen to.

"You be careful with that!" Chuck warned her. "Your daddy hears you playin' it, he'll bust your butt."

Ariel barely listened, and put the tape in the player and pressed play. The song was broadcast throughout a majority of the place. Everyone started dancing and singing, and the like, when Shaw, Ariel's dad, showed up. Ariel immediately turned off the music and awaited the argument that was bound to happen between them.

"Your mother didn't think you had any money with you," he said, surprisingly. Shaw handed her some money, and went on his way. Everyone, especially Ariel, was grateful that he hadn't yelled and busted everybody. They all seemed to be thinking the same thing: _Thank God!_

**A/N: So how'd I do? Love it? Hate it? Suggestions and constructive criticism are welcome, just don't be too harsh. I have anger problems. Remember I'm new to this whole concept, so take it easy. Thank you and have a good day! :D**


	2. First Day of School

**Balto McCormick**

**Chapter 2: First Day of School**

**A/N: So here's the second chapter. Trying to keep things as accurate as possible. Sorry I keep using the same words, I lack work ethic. Please remember to review. Keeps me writing.**

Ren woke up first the next morning with a groggy feeling in his head. It was their first day of school, and he didn't know about Balto, but he refused to be late. He looked to his left and saw Balto, still sleeping, with a small puddle of drool emerging from her open mouth. He just stood up and started getting ready for school. He figured he'd wake Balto up later, since it was a bad idea to wake her up early.

Balto had forgotten about finding a frog, and decided to sleep a little longer. Ren was trying not to step on her, and succeeded in that attempt. However, his foot made contact with her ribs, waking her almost instantly.

"Get your foot off me, Ren," Balto groaned. Balto hated Mondays more than she hated school. She wasn't much of a morning person, either.

Balto sat up and rubbed her eyes, adjusting to the light in the room, and thought since she was already up, she might as well get ready for school. This almost never included showering, of course, but was more like a Dress-Eat-Go type of system. Balto just threw on her white t-shirt, black leather jacket, and jeans, not caring what their mom thought about it.

Meanwhile, Ren was putting on a black tie in front of a mirror. Then, their mother called him.

"Yeah, mom?"

"You and Balto about ready to go?" Their mother asked. Then she noticed his tie. "You gonna wear that tie?"

"Yeah," Ren answered.

"I think you might want to dress down for now."

"Why? I like the tie."

"September, when you and your sister go to college, you can dress like David Bowie." Then, Balto walked by, smelling like wet dog, as usual. Balto had the habit of dressing like her favorite singer, Bryan Adams. She had the leather jacket, the red and black checkered shirt, everything.

"Oh, God, Balto! Go take a shower right now, young lady!" Their mother instructed rather loudly. Balto didn't seem to have heard her, so she turned to Ren for assistance.

"Ren, go tell your sister to take a shower!" Their mother wasn't fond of Balto's constant stench of wet dog, and was always pressuring her to take a shower. However, Balto wasn't a big fan of cleanliness, so they were even.

"Balto, go take a shower!" Ren yelled. He didn't at all mind Balto's smell, as long as it didn't get too strong. One time, when she was twelve, Balto made a squirrel pass out while climbing a tree.

"No damn way!" Balto yelled back.

"Balto Kävik McCormick I want you to take a shower right now!" Their mom just wouldn't give up whenever it came to how Balto looked and smelled. Her wish was the perfect daughter who always obeyed and was always clean. Instead, she got a rebellious tomboy who broke rules, talked back, used obscene words, and smelled like a dog. There was also the occasional flea problem.

"Just let her stink," Ren said. He hated it when his mother yelled at Balto for carrying around odd smells.

With that said, he and Balto got their stuff and jumped into the car. They always kept tapes in the glove compartment, which they never hesitated to put in. Balto took out the tape for the song "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" by Quiet Riot, and inserted it. They listened to it the whole way to school, occasionally singing along.

When they got to school, they realized what a hunk of junk their car was. A few people were laughing, and others just stared. Balto noticed some girls were smiling at Ren and just rolled her eyes. It was typical for girls to notice her brother like that. Meanwhile, she was just a scrapper who happened to be his younger sister. Balto didn't mind, though. She liked her rough and tough way of life. Then again, she was a rule breaker, a rebel, and a truant with an occasional flea problem. Oh well. She just pushed those facts aside and walked into the school with Ren by her side, avoiding eye contact with people.

Balto hadn't taken the time to read her schedule, so she kept it in her cap. No use making a fool of herself on the first day by running around like a headless chicken trying to find her classes. When she stepped through the doors into the hallway, she took note of where the principal's office was, where the air vents were, and where the exit doors were. All of which were necessary to skip class and/or school without getting caught. It was a bad habit of hers.

Ren just walked on to his first class, closely followed by Balto, and received and bunch of stares and comments about the way they looked. One kid told Ren to comb his hair and a group of girls looked Balto up and down with all the contempt they could muster and walked on. The whole thing made Balto feel small, which was very rare for her. While they were distracted, they bumped into a kid wearing a cowboy hat and a red and black checkered shirt, kind of like the one that Balto had.

"Shit, mister, where are you goin'?" He asked, obviously pissed off. "You're supposed to look."

"Sorry," Ren apologized, holding his hands up in defense.

"Where'd you learn how to drive? Stay on the right side." The boy said again. Now Ren was gettin' pissed off.

"I like that hat. They sell men's clothes where you got that?" Ren countered.

"Willard, come on." Somebody said.

"What's your name?" The boy who they assumed was Willard asked.

"Ren." He answered.

"My name's Willard Hewitt." Willard replied. "Glad to meet ya."

"How ya doin'?" They shook hands, and it wasn't until then that Willard noticed Balto.

"Say, who's your friend?" he asked, gesturing towards Balto.

"I'm his sister, Balto." Balto answered. She and Willard shook hands and Balto glanced at the clock. They had one minute left to get to class.

"Alright. I'll see you around." Willard said, walking away.

"Alright." Ren and Balto answered in unison.

Meanwhile, Ariel Moore was walking down the hall with Rusty.

"I swear one of these days—" she began before being interrupted by Rusty talking to Ren.

"That tie is fabulous!" Rusty complimented. "I mean it. It's fabulous. Don't let anyone tell you any different."

"Ariel!" Ren yelled after her. Ariel turned around at the mention of her name. "Right?"

"Very good." Ariel responded.

"Girl, you are on!" Rusty told her.

Meanwhile, in the afternoon, Balto was catching some Z's in math. It was a good thing she kept her schedule in her hat, otherwise she'd still be in the hallway trying to find her classes. Lucky for her, she had some classes with Ren, so she'd just follow him. Their lockers were close together as well, so they had time to talk in between classes and they wouldn't have to hunt each other down after school like wolves.

Just as the teacher started ranting about polynomials, the lunch bell rang, rudely interrupting Balto's nap. Balto wiped the drool off her chin and went on to lunch. Balto hated being interrupted during a nap, but the teacher was bound to get on her back about sleeping in class anyway.

Balto found Ren on the way to the cafeteria, and they later found Willard. While they were in line, Balto and Ren started telling Willard about their hometown, Chicago.

"Chicago, wow, man. Must be wild, like the Naked City." Willard commented. "I'll tell ya, you're gonna bounce off the goddamn walls here. What do you do there?"

"Oh, I don't know. Same thing you do here. What do you do here?" Ren answered.

"Lot of this," Willard answered, referring to something unbeknownst to Balto.

"Yeah, that too," Ren replied, seeming to know what Willard was talking about. Then they all sat down and Ren started telling a story.

"I'll tell you, there was this place called the Blue Heaven." Ren began. Balto suddenly perked up, knowing what Ren was talking about. They almost always spent their Friday and Saturday nights at places like the Blue Heaven. "It was great. Balto had to steal ID's for us to get in, but it was incredible."

"How'd she do that?" Willard asked. Balto wasn't expecting a question like that. She looked to Ren for assistance, and he just nodded.

"I…pick pockets," Balto answered sheepishly, shrinking down in her chair.

"Anyway, it was like a huge underground circus, you know. Hot pink neon climbin' up the walls, and astro music." Ren continued the story, dropping the subject about Balto's pickpocketing. She wasn't proud of the stealing that was necessary, but they had to get in somehow.

"Oh, and girls, millions of girls, like from the university mostly. If we could get one to dance, just one, then that was it. We'd get out on the floor and we'd really start to smoke. We'd start cuttin' in, and these girls would stop. And they'd look."

"They'd look how?" Willard asked, obviously intrigued.

"You know, they'd start to warm up a little, right?" Ren answered. "Pretty soon, they'd start buying us beers."

"They're buying you guys beers?"

"Oh, yeah."

"Ah, shit."

"Wait. There was this one. This was the best. Ginger." Balto rolled her eyes. Ren always exaggerated the Ginger story.

"Listen. We started dancing, right? Slow dancing, like we're stuck to each other. Eventually it's obvious to me that she wants to do more than dance, right? So we left the place." Ren continued. This is the point where he starts exaggerating.

"On the way to the car, she's already got her tongue in my ear. We get to the car. She says we can't go to her place

'cause of her roommate, right? But she says, 'Hey, that's no problem!' She's got seats in the car that recline back. All the way back. If you know what I'm saying."

"All the way?" Willard was awestruck by now, even if part of it was a lie.

"So she rips my shirt open. She's clawing my chest. She's biting my neck, and I'm trying to get over the stick shift 'cause we're goin' like a freakin' freight train now." At this point, Ren began laughing. "All of a sudden, she starts screaming at the top of her lungs, 'Oh, God! Oh, God! Don't stop! Don't stop! Make Ginger pop!'" Balto was constantly trying to stifle a laugh as the story got more and more exaggerated.

"Oh, shit, really?"

"No!" Ren said, still laughing. "But we did dance. We danced our asses off." After that, Ariel's friend, Rusty, came over to them and tried to lure them over to their table.

"Willard, how could you let our new students eat this food? Don't eat this. We have delicious homemade food, right over there." She said, gesturing towards the table she came from. The two boys looked surprised, but Balto just rolled her eyes again. Another typical thing with Ren.

"Come on over. It's so good. Come on, Willard." They were starting to talk to him like he was a dog.

"Oh, chicken!" The girl beside Rusty was dangling what appeared to be a chicken leg not far out of Balto's reach. Balto had a thing for meat, and loved it more than the air she breathed.

"I'll take that!" Balto said, snatching the chicken leg out of her hand and attacking it like a dog. Then, Willard caved, and went over to their table, followed by Ren and Balto.

"Come on, come on. Good boy. Bring your friends." They all just decided to conform and sat down. Balto was still nibbling away at the chicken leg in a dog-like fashion, and seemed oblivious to her surroundings.

"You won't get any of that here." Willard told Ren.

"What?" Ren asked.

"Dancing. There's no dancing," he answered.

"That's right," a kid named Woody confirmed. Ren and Balto had puzzled looks on their faces wondering what the hell they were talking about.

"Why?" Ren asked again.

"It's illegal."

"Jump back!" Balto and Ren exclaimed simultaneously.

"It's true. Has been for five or six years."

"Why?" Balto asked incredulously.

"Go ahead, tell 'em." Rusty said.

"It started when these kids got killed in a car wreck. Whole town went bananas, blaming it on the music, liquor and dancing. Now they're just convinced it's all a sin." Willard explained.

"Who's convinced?"

"Whole damn town." Woody answered.

After school, Balto and Ren met up with Willard on the way out and went on their way.

"You really can't dance here, man? I can't believe that." Ren commented. Their car was low on gas, so they stopped at a gas station.

"It's true. This isn't the only place either. You'd be surprised. Places upstate you can't dance. Places in Kansas and Arkansas. All over the place." Willard said. "My cousin lives in Montana, and ya can't dance where she lives either."

"Yeah? She ever get busted for bopping?" Balto asked, jokingly.

"I don't know. I never asked her." Willard answered.

A short while later, they got back into the car and Ren put in the same tape he and Balto listened to that morning. "Bang Your Head (Metal Health)" by Quiet Riot.

"You guys rich?" Willard suddenly inquired.

"No. Why?" Balto replied from the back seat.

"'Cause I don't think I ever bought a tape before."

"Get serious! This place is too weird." Ren said.

They got on the road again, and Balto decided to break the silence that had lasted several minutes.

"Don't you ever listen to the radio?" She asked Willard.

"No. We got one radio at home, but it's never on."

"You like Men at Work?" Balto asked.

"Which men?" Willard countered.

"Men at Work." Ren repeated.

"Where do they work?" Willard obviously had no idea what they were going on about.

"No, they're a music group," Balto explained.

"Well, what do they call themselves?"

"Oh no!" Ren exclaimed.

"You ever heard Bryan Adams? Does 'Cuts Like a Knife' ring a bell?" Balto asked. Bryan Adams was one of her personal favorites.

"Uh uh."

"What about the Police?" Ren asked.

"What about 'em?" Willard questioned.

"Have you ever heard them?" Balto inquired.

"No, but I seen 'em." This surprised both of them.

"In concert?"

"No, behind you."

"What?" Balto looked behind them. She was surprised they didn't notice them earlier. "Oh, shit!"

Ren just sighed and pulled over. It wasn't everyday they had cops on their tails. Then, he took off his sunglasses and leaned out the window to talk to the cops.

"Step out of the car." The cop instructed.

"Could you tell me what the problem is?" Ren asked.

"Just step out of the car, please." Ren and Balto stepped out of the car, and a second cop showed up. The reason Balto stepped out with him, was because she had a little more experience with handling the cops.

"Jim, these plates are Illinois." The second cop said.

"So?" Ren asked.

"You got a license?" Ren nodded and took out his driver's license. They were already occupied with the first officer, and didn't notice the other one take out their tape.

"Catch!" He said, throwing their tape to the officer who asked Ren if he had license.

"Hey, we just bought that!" Balto protested.

"Playin' it kind of loud weren't you?" The cop asked.

"Yeah, is there a law against loud music?" Ren said sarcastically. The cop swiped the tape under Ren's chin at his remark.

"Watch that attitude, boy! That way, I don't have to take you in." The cop said angrily.

After that was over, they got back in the car, dropped Willard off, and headed home.

"Nice going, big brother, you just pissed off a cop!" Balto joked.

"Shut up, Balto." Ren replied.

They got home just in time for dinner, and all went well, until their uncle asked them why they came home so late. It was first instinct for Balto to try to lie, but Ren answered first. After he explained the whole incident, Balto started talking.

"Twenty-five bucks. They wouldn't even let us off with a warning."

"You can't talk to our police the way you talk to the big city police," their uncle explained.

"But we weren't doing anything!" Balto protested.

"Yeah, sure." Sarah said sarcastically. Balto swore that that kid was _trying_ to piss them off.

"Sarah, hush!" Their uncle told her. Then their aunt came into the picture.

"There was this bunch of kids that snuck over the state line a few years back to see some rock and roll group, and they were stopped on their way back into town by the police." She explained.

"They were on church and school probation for weeks!" Their uncle explained further. "So you two better watch your step around here, and especially you, Balto!"

"Why especially me?" Balto inquired.

"Because, Balto, you have a history of getting in trouble."

"That's right!" Sarah chimed in again.

"Hey Sarah, guess what?" Balto asked, grinning.

"What?" Sarah replied.

"Shut up," Balto answered, frowning now. That was one of her favorite jokes. And it was effective.

Meanwhile, Ariel Moore was at home doing her homework. Shaw was working on something and listening to some classical music. He hadn't spoken to her much since the incident at the drive-in. Ariel decided to go and apologize about it.

"Daddy?" She said, grabbing his attention. "I'm sorry about the other night at the drive-in, about the music."

"I was surprised." Shaw replied.

"What's the music?" She asked.

"Oh, it's—I think it's Haydn. Chamber pieces."

"And that kind of music's okay?"

"It's uplifting," he answered, "and it doesn't confuse people's minds and bodies."

"I don't—" Ariel began saying.

"What?" Shaw interrupted.

"I see," Ariel said, walking away.

"Tell your mother to go on to bed, I still have a lot of work," he instructed.

"I will. Good night."

"Good night, hon."


	3. Jobs and Other Stuff

**Balto McCormick**

**Chapter 3: Jobs, and Other Stuff**

**A/N: I know practically nothing about cars, but, since I'm considering taking an automotive technology course in high school, I'm doing my research.**

The next day, after school, they saw Ariel and some of Chuck Cranston's friends get into his truck. Ren and Balto, joined by Willard again, got into their car and started to drive off when Chuck drove up to them.

"Hey! You the new kids?" Chuck asked. Ren and Balto just ignored him, which, of course, pissed him off. "Hey I'm talking to you two!" Now he had their attention.

"Where'd your tie go?" Chuck inquired. Ren didn't answer. "I thought only pansies wore neckties." Balto always got angry when somebody insulted Ren, and this was no exception.

"You better shut up about my brother, or I will kick your ass so hard, your nose will bleed!" Balto loved using the "foot in ass" threat. It was simple, effective, and hilarious.

"Balto, I'll handle this." Ren told her. "Oh yeah? I thought only assholes used the word pansy." He said to Chuck. He figured it would be best to just drive away, and he did.

"Oh! He got you on that one!" Ariel joked.

"Shut up!" Chuck yelled. "Son of a bitch is gonna pay for that! And his sister, too." With that, Chuck drove off.

"Either you got jumbo coconut balls, or you're really pretty stupid," Willard said.

"Who is that douchebag?" Ren asked.

"He's a weasel, but you better watch your back," Willard replied.

They dropped off Willard at his house a few minutes later, and decided that they needed a way to make money. They had to find jobs. It was kind of funny that there'd be jobs for teenagers in as small a town as this. Balto actually had a regular job back in Chicago working for Mike Wood as an auto mechanic, but Ren was just jumping puddles when it came to jobs and working. Lucky for Balto, there was a shop around town, so Ren dropped her off there, while he went to the Beamis Mill to see if he could find a job there.

Balto went into the shop and asked a guy named Burt who to talk to for a job. Burt said, "Talk to Mr. Wolff," and pointed to a guy wearing a jean jacket with the name Wolff on it.

"Hey. You Mr. Wolff?" Balto asked. The man turned around and smiled.

"Oh, no, Mr. Wolff is my father. I'm Charlie. I own this joint. You need a repair?" They shook hands and Balto could tell he was a nice guy and appeared to be around twenty-four or so.

"Balto McCormick. Actually, I was lookin' for a job," Balto said.

"You got any experience, Balto?" Charlie inquired.

"Yeah, I worked for a guy named Mike Wood back in Chicago for two years." Balto answered.

"Chicago? Wow. Ever worked on a DeLorean?"

"Twice. Had to repair a transmission and a brake. Both done successfully."

"Impressive resume you got there, kid. But I'll have to test ya." Charlie told her. Just then another car drove in, which gave him an idea.

"What do you say you help Garth over there? I'll see how you do and if you're good, I'll hire ya. Sound fair?" Charlie explained.

"Yeah, alright." Balto walked over to the car that just drove in and introduced herself to Garth after he was done talking to the customer.

"Hey. I'm Balto McCormick." Balto said, extending her hand.

"Garth Williams," He replied, shaking her outstretched hand. "Whatcha doin' over here?"

"Charlie told me to help ya. Hoping to get a job here," Balto answered.

"Well, good luck. This guy's got a broken transmission and the engine's spitting." Garth explained. "Think you can handle it?"

"I think I can manage. I had to repair the transmission on a DeLorean once back in Chicago." Balto replied.

"Wow, a DeLorean? You'll fit right in."

"I got that figured out when I walked in here. It's the rest of this town I'm worried about." Balto explained.

"Well, I don't know what to tell ya on that one. Say, would you get my toolbox over there while I check out the engine?" Garth asked, pointing to a red toolbox on a shelf.

"Sure."

After Balto brought Garth the toolbox, they both got to work. Balto let her mind wander, and was wondering how Ren was doing as far as getting a job. He said something about a mill, and Balto only hoped he didn't look like an idiot trying to figure out what the hell everyone was talking about.

Meanwhile, at the Beamis Mill, Ren was talking to Andy. He was asking Ren a bunch of questions about what he knew how to do as they were walking through the mill.

"Can you operate a palette jack?"

"Uh-uh."

"How 'bout a bag closer?"

"Uh-uh."

"Where are you from?"

"Chicago."

"You're not stupid are you?" This got Ren angry. Nobody calls him stupid except Balto.

"You trying to piss me off?" Ren asked, walking up to him.

"Boy, a lot of folks are gonna give you and your sister problems right off, because, you see, you're outsiders. You're dangerous. They're always gonna worry about ya." The man explained. "Screw 'em. This is only one little corner of the world."

"Start Thursday?" Ren offered when he started to walk away.

"Sounds okay," he said. When he walked away, Ren mouthed, "YES!" and went back to pick up Balto.

After Balto and Garth finished repairing the engine and replacing the transmission, she went back to Charlie, who had been watching the whole time.

"Congratulations, Balto. I'm gonna let you work for me. Quite impressive what you did there, and I need good, diligent workers 'round here." Charlie told her, grinning in satisfaction the whole time.

"So how 'bout I start Thursday?" Balto asked.

"Sounds alright to me." They shook hands again, and Balto went out to wait for Ren.

When Ren pulled up, Balto hopped in the front seat and asked him how the job hunt went.

"So how'd ya do, big brother?"

"Starting at the Beamis Mill on Thursday, how 'bout you?" Ren answered.

"Starting as a mechanic for Charlie Wolff also on Thursday." Balto replied.

"That explains the grease all over your face, arms, and shirt." Ren commented.

Balto looked at her watch and realized it was almost six o'clock, and they had a lot of homework to do. Well, Ren would do his homework, and she'd just listen to music, climb trees, and watch TV. When they got home, they were surprised to find that their family had started dinner without them.

"Where've you two kids been? Dinner started ten minutes ago." Their mother said.

"Job hunting," Balto replied, wiping some grease off her hat.

"Really? How'd that go?"

"Well, I start working at the Beamis Mill on Thursday," Ren began.

"And I start working as an auto mechanic for Charlie Wolff on Thursday, too." Balto added.

"If you don't start until Thursday, Balto, then why do you have grease all over you?" Their uncle Wes asked.

"Charlie wanted a demonstration." Balto answered.

"Oh yes, I remember Charles Wolff. Brilliant young man; knows everything there is to know about cars." Their aunt Lulu commented.

"Balto, go take a shower and get all that grease off of you, then come to dinner." Their mom told her.

"Yes mom." Balto trudged into the bathroom to shower, cursing under her breath.

"Hey, you finally got her to shower after two weeks. Congratulations, mom!" Ren announced sarcastically, clapping his hands.

Fifteen minutes later, Balto came back down, now grease-free, and ate dinner silently. Their aunt and uncle were wondering what was wrong with her, since it was abnormal for Balto to be this quiet.

"Ethel, what's wrong with Balto?" Lulu wanted to know.

"I don't know. Ren, do you know?" Their mother inquired. Whenever something was wrong with Balto, and nobody knew what it was, they always turned to Ren, and vice-versa. Ren and Balto knew each other better than anyone.

"She's mad 'cause you made her shower," Ren answered. "You'd think after seventeen years, you'd notice that she always gets mad at you after showering."

"That's true, mom," Balto said.

"But doesn't being clean feel good Balto? Don't you feel better?" Their mother asked her.

"I feel good after bathing in dirt," Balto muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Wes inquired.

"Nothing, uncle Wes."

Thursday came faster than expected, since they actually had something worthwhile to do. Balto had decided to skip school on Tuesday, so she had even more homework to do, but she went to work anyway. When Ren dropped her off, Charlie and Garth immediately welcomed her.

"Hey, McCormick! We could use your help over here!" Garth called. Balto ran over to the car they were working on and asked what the problem was.

"What's up?"

"We can't figure out what's wrong with the distributor on this thing," another guy explained. "By the way, the name's Adams. Jack Adams."

"Balto McCormick. Now, did you guys try everything?" Balto asked.

"Yes!"

"Everything?" Balto asked again, skeptically. Having experience with DeLoreans, AMCs, GMCs, and Chryslers, she could pretty much figure out anything wrong with any car part. She had her former employer, Mike, to thank for that.

"Start the car," she instructed.

"We already did. The box powers up, but it won't fire the coil and the white wire is the trigger source," Charlie said.

"Uh huh. Take off the cap and turn the motor over. I'm gonna check on the points." Balto instructed. They did as they were told, and were wondering what this had to do with it. They weren't stupid, they knew how these things worked, but in a town like Bomont, not much technological education was available.

"Well the points are sparking normally. Maybe there's a problem with the coil or the coil wire going to the cap. Now, this is a stock type coil, right?" Balto inquired.

"Yeah."

"Good, because the procedure I have in mind can only be done on those kinds of coils."

Then Balto got to work on the distributor, assisted by Garth and Burt, and got done in a little under thirty minutes. Their hands were filthy, and so were their shirts, but it was the price they had to pay to be in this line of work.

Meanwhile, Ren was working at the mill, stacking heavy bags of flour. He was soaked with sweat, and the heat was unbearable, but it was easy money. He dropped another bag on the stack, when he saw Ariel Moore walk up to him.

"Oh hi, Ariel." Ren greeted.

"Chuck Cranston wants to see you. Meet him at the back of his daddy's field tomorrow at 5:30." Ariel said, cutting to the chase.

"What happens tomorrow at 5:30?" Ren asked.

"You'll have to show up to find out," Ariel replied simply.

"And if I don't?"

"People will know you're scared." Ariel paused for a moment before speaking again.

"Anyway, Chuck will find you. You want that?" She turned around and started walking away, when Ren stopped her.

"Hey, yo! Yo!" Ren called. Ariel turned around, listening to what he had to say.

"How come he sent you?"

"I volunteered." That being said, Ariel walked away. Ren just stood there in a type of trance until one of the guys started yelling at him to get back to work.

"McCormick, where the hell are ya, you're backin' up back here!"

Ren went back to work, and when the clock struck six, Ren went to pick up Balto and then drove home. He told her about his run-in with Ariel, and it seemed to make sense to her.

"So she said that Chuck wants to see me at his dad's field tomorrow at 5:30, and if I don't go, people are gonna know I'm scared or something," Ren told her.

"I think I know what's going on," Balto replied. "It's pretty easy, really."

"Oh yeah? Then what's up?" Ren asked.

"I don't think I should tell you."

"Why not?"

"Standard rules," Balto explained.

"Standard rules of what?" Ren always got annoyed when Balto played the "standard rules" card.

"The Universe." Balto answered.

"Balto, there are no standard rules of the Universe."

"Yes there are!"

"Okay, then, name three."

"One: Thou shall not beat the old man at anything. Two: Thy business is also thy younger sister's. And three: Thou shall not doubt thy younger sister's intelligence!" Balto listed confidently.

"Why do I bother?" Ren asked himself quietly.

When they got home, they were extremely tired from working, and decided to take it easy and watch TV for a while. After a five-minute argument over who got the remote, Balto turned on Animal House, and they caught it at about a quarter of the way through. When Sarah and Amy came home from a friend's house, they heard the TV on and Sarah went to see what Ren and Balto were watching. Of course, they knew that Animal House was rated R and was inappropriate for Sarah, so they kicked her out.

"Sarah, get out." Balto said sternly.

"Why?" Sarah asked, being defiant as usual.

"This movie's inappropriate for you, now get out," Ren instructed.

"Aunt Ethel!" Sarah yelled, knowing full well that Ren and Balto never won an argument against Ethel McCormick.

"Dammit." Balto cursed as their mother walked into the room.

"What is it this time, Sarah?" She asked, glancing at Balto for a brief moment.

"Balto and Ren won't let me watch TV!" Sarah whined.

"But mom, we're watching Animal House! It's not appropriate for her, and you know that!" Ren argued.

"Change the channel, then." Ethel suggested.

"Hell no! We wanna watch the movie!" Balto retorted.

"Why do they always get to watch that stuff?" Sarah asked in a whiny tone.

"Because we're older," Balto said, being a smart-ass as usual.

"Balto! Change the channel."

"But mom—"

"Now, young lady!" Balto reluctantly handed the remote over to Sarah, who stuck her tongue out at them before changing it to one of her little kids' shows.

Balto and Ren immediately left the room, looking for something else to do. Balto, not being able to come up with anything, decided to take a nap on the couch. After a while, Ren followed suit and fell asleep in a chair, forgetting all about his homework. Taking a nap was better than nothing.

"Ren! Balto! Dinner!" Their mother called. No response.

"Ren? Balto?" _Where the hell are they?_

She soon found them asleep, and woke them up by snapping her fingers in their ears. That sound annoyed them both more than anything, especially while they were sleeping. Both awakened instantly, and trudged over to the dinner table.

"So, how was work you two?" Their mother asked, trying to fill the silence.

"Good." Ren and Balto replied in unison.

"Good, so you two won't be asking me for money for the rest of your lives?" Everyone laughed at this remark.

"No guarantees," Balto muttered under her breath. Ren and Balto laughed to themselves, like they always did when Balto made a smart-ass remark.

Dinner wasn't over for another half hour, and afterwards, Ren finally started his math homework, and Balto got goin' on her social studies homework.

"Shit. Homework, homework, homework. I'm tellin' ya, bro, the teachers are giving us a lot of homework on purpose." Balto said, her head down on the table with her homework in front of her.

"If they were, Balto, we'd have ten pages instead of five," Ren replied. "Hey, what's the square root of 76?"

"Seventy-six doesn't have a square root, dumbass."

"Try telling that to our math teacher."

"Oh whatever! Now where the hell is Portugal?" Balto asked, studying the map in her textbook. Ren reached over and pointed to Portugal, still paying attention to his homework.

About three quarters of the way through his math homework, he fell asleep. Balto, only half-awake, looked up from her homework, and sighed as she got up to wake up Ren so she wouldn't have to literally drag him into his bed. He didn't wake up, so Balto picked him up and dropped him gently onto the floor. Then, she put her hands under his armpits and dragged him onto a chair in the living room. _Damn, this boy's a heavy sleeper!_

She pulled out the sofa bed, and dragged him over to the edge of the bed. Then, she put him on her back and dropped him onto the bed.

"I don't know why it always has to be me! It's not like the boy can't take care of himself!" Balto grumbled as she took off her jacket and shoes and fell asleep on the floor. Then, Ren started snoring.

"You have got to be kidding me!"


	4. Trouble

**Balto McCormick**

**Chapter 4: Trouble**

The next day after school, Balto got the day off work, and went to Burlington Cranston's field, for an unknown reason, and Ren was in the gym practicing gymnastics and talking to Willard. Balto knew a lot of things about Ren, but that was something she would never understand. She thinks he uses it as an excuse to get away from her. He was telling Willard what Ariel said the previous day.

"So she tells me…that I pissed Chuck off right?" Ren began.

"So he wants to see me…then she walks away."

"He figured you were gonna chicken and never—impressive!" Willard said, when Ren did a trick. Ren stood up and tried to catch his breath.

"Kinda out of it. I had to go to work last year."

"You still move it?" Willard asked, referring to Ren's dancing. Ren did a quick move, and Willard said that he better watch it, or Ariel will tell the Reverend and he's gonna burn.

"Yeah, what's her story? Is she really tough or what?" Ren asked when he got back up on the bar.

"Nah, she's just trying to make people forget she's the preacher's kid"

"That why she hangs out with Chuck?"

"Maybe. People think she's a hell-raiser."

"Is she?" Ren knew what a hell-raiser was, having lived seventeen years of his life with one, but Ariel gave no implications of being quite as much of a hell-raiser as his own sister.

"I think she's been kissed a lot." Ren scoffed at that comment.

Five-thirty came quickly, and Ren and Willard went out to Chuck's field and met up with Woody, Rusty, and everyone else. Ren had no idea how to operate a tractor, and Balto hadn't the slightest idea, either. Ren knew he would have to keep his sister on a leash…literally…because Balto would probably sabotage Chuck's tractor to make sure Ren would win. And Ren, being the evil big brother he is, had a large dog collar in one of his pockets, which he didn't hesitate to put on Balto and tie to a tree. It was kind of cruel, he knew, but he didn't want her to risk death via Chuck by sabotaging his tractor. But he was a little too late for that matter…

_Flashback to Earlier that Day…_

"_Ain't ya going to work today, Balto? Or did Charlie give ya the day off?" Ren asked when Balto wasn't in her work shirt that day._

_ "Got the day off. Goin' cow-tipping tonight with the guys." Balto replied. She had only gotten to go cow-tipping two or three times back in Chicago, and there were farms and pastures everywhere in Bomont._

_ "The guys?" Ren was unaware of who "the guys" were._

_ "Jack, Garth, maybe Burt," Balto replied. "You know them."_

_ Balto did get the day off, that was true, but she wasn't going cow-tipping. She was going to Burlington Cranston's field, where she knew Chuck and his buddies would be waiting for Ren. She knew that Chuck was planning a chicken race, because she had her own experiences with the activity and knew when somebody was arranging one. She could see Chuck, Ariel, Rich, and a few others she didn't recognize hanging out down by one of the tractors on one side of a narrow dirt road. Balto knew absolutely nothing about tractors, having grown up in an urban environment, but she knew how to loosen a tire and that was good enough._

_ She managed to sneak across the large field unseen, and crept up behind the tractor that Chuck and everyone else was sitting by. Balto removed a wrench from her jacket pocket and started to loosen the lugnuts on one of the tires, and poured some oil on it to ensure that the tire would eventually come loose. She also knew that the results of her sabotage could very well kill him, but that was a chance she was willing to take. It's not like nobody ever died in a chicken race before._

_ Chuck and everybody got distracted by Woody walking up to the field, and went up to go intimidate him saying that there was no way in hell that Ren would win this. Balto, of course, got steamed and decided to do further damage to the tractor. She popped up the hood and took a look at all the parts. It was like Chinese writing to her, so she would just have to guess which parts to sabotage. She then finished screwing up the gears and stuff inside the tractor and shut the hood. Chuck looked like he was almost done talking to Woody, so she ran out of there quickly._

_Back to the Present…_

Balto snickered at the memory of what she did to that tractor, and pulled a pocketknife from her pocket. She cut the rope and unfastened the collar from her neck, then ran up with the others. Ren and Chuck were driving their tractors toward one another, and everybody else was running and cheering. Chuck had also brought a tape player and had one of his cassettes playing, when Balto noticed that the tire started to move, and some smoke was coming out from under the hood. _Show time._

The tire was really loose, and the tractor started to turn involuntarily and Chuck couldn't control it very well. Ren was still on his tractor, driving towards the malfunctioning tractor, and was having second thoughts. He would've jumped off, had his shoelace not gotten caught on something. He looked back and saw Balto…missing the collar. He looked toward the tree and saw the collar and the rope on the ground. _That sly dog…_

Chuck knew he had no choice but to jump, so he did…into the creek. The tractor kept going out of control, and then finally toppled over on its side. Ren won the chicken race, but that was the last thing on his mind. What was first and foremost in that brain of his, was kicking Balto's ass for messing with the tractor, because now, Chuck was going to kill them _both_. However, he still celebrated.

"Son of a bitch tried to kill me!" Chuck repeated as his cronies helped get him out of the creek.

Everyone on Ren's side of the field was walking away, but Chuck stayed and called Charlie Wolff to come over and see what was wrong with the tractor.

"Well, it looks like your tire's loose, and the interior's all messed up. Looks like somebody tried to beat it with a hammer or something," said Charlie as he inspected everything. "It'd take a real mastermind to pull off somethin' like this on one of your guys' tractors; and it looks like whoever did it knew what they were doin'."

"Well can ya fix it?" Chuck was getting impatient.

"Shouldn't be that hard to fix, but it's gonna take a while to get this thing upright. Go get your pop to come and help, while I get the tire on right." Chuck ran off, and Charlie was fixing the tire when he saw a discarded wrench on the ground. Balto's wrench.

"That kid is gonna get her face kicked in if Burlington finds this." Charlie said to himself.

_Meanwhile, back in the small, small world of Ren and Balto…_

Balto was running all around the house, with Ren pursuing her.

"I'm gonna kill you!" He yelled.

"No you won't! You're just saying that because you're angry and full of rage!" Balto yelled back, dodging the furniture, and trying not to get caught, literally.

They eventually wound up in the backyard, and Balto didn't hesitate to scramble up the tree, leaving Ren down below.

"Balto! Come down here so I can kill you!" Ren called. Balto didn't answer. "You can either come down and let me kill you, or stay up there and let me kill you!"

"Is there a third option?" Balto asked. Ren began to climb the tree, and grabbed Balto by the collar.

"Yes! The third option is: get killed or thrown in jail by the Cranstons!" He shook her back and forth, causing them to lose their balance. Both fell on the ground and started wrestling. They were interrupted some minutes later by their aunt's voice coming from inside.

"Balto! Ren! Come inside, I want to talk to you!" She yelled.

"Are we in trouble?" They yelled back, simultaneously.

"Just get in here!" This either meant she was annoyed with that answer, or they were in big trouble.

They went inside and found her in the living room by the phone. They could tell by her facial expression that it was Balto that was in trouble. Balto gets a deeper scowl when she's in trouble than Ren does.

"Balto," Lulu began. "Burlington Cranston just called."


End file.
